


Mirror, Mirror

by scar_letstrings



Series: Reflection, Reflection [1]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Big Brother Techno, Big brother Dream, Brotherly Love, Canon Divergence, Depictions of Abuse, Dream Smp, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Healing, Tommy needs a hug, Trauma, Villain Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), along with c!techno and skywars!techno, and beat up c!dream or something, asshole technoblade, attempted humor, basically manhunt!dream and skywars!techno come to kidnap tommy, c!dream and manhunt!dream are different people, i do not see tommys death, mentions of abuse, no beta we die like wilbur, once again why does techno have so many character tags, someone answer me for gods sake, tommy angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-14 19:54:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29797038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scar_letstrings/pseuds/scar_letstrings
Summary: Tommy gets kidnapped by two of his worst nightmares' doppelgangers.Cool beans.
Relationships: TommyInnit & Clay | Dream & Technoblade
Series: Reflection, Reflection [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2190657
Comments: 44
Kudos: 439





	1. Chapter 1

There was something thick and dark coating the back of Tommy’s tongue, and it took him a fuzzy moment of slowly clicking his thoughts together before he startlingly realized that it was blood. It tasted quite awful, metallic and bitter on his tongue that had only tasted raw potatoes for the past few days. 

He slowly raised up a hand and realized with a small, echoing _oh_ that his fingers were bloody too, stained dark red and shining sickeningly in the light of the lava. Tommy had always been rather fond of the color red, but right then, it only served to make him want to vomit, the churning in his stomach only heightened by the throbbing in his head. 

“Are you going to listen, now?” Dream sang over him. Tommy couldn’t see that well - that probably wasn’t a good sign for his health, he hysterically thought to himself - and everything was a blurry fuzz as he squinted and tried to ease his breathing so the sensation of near vomiting would go away. “Tommy, are you going to listen?” 

Tommy spat out a mouthful of blood onto the obsidian floor. The air smelled thick with the iron bleeding out of his teeth and the burning heat of the lava. Tommy was sweating, hadn’t stopped sweating since he was thrown into the godforsaken prison and discarded like rotten flesh, and he feverishly thought to himself that this really was it. 

At least Wilbur was waiting for him. 

“Fuck you,” Tommy said instead, because at least he had this, at least he had the last moments of his own thoughts separated from the honeyed spiderweb of Dream’s twisted words and spindling fingers. Tommy was on his last life and _fuck Dream_ if he thought he could take away Tommy’s anger, too. That was the one thing Tommy had left. 

Dream never took his mask off, didn’t dare to do it even around George or Sapnap, but Tommy had been in his clutches long enough to realize that the man was displeased. Tommy despised how well-put Dream looked even though he’s been in the prison for far longer than Tommy’s been, because there was no trace of Pandora’s Box and her claw marks on Dream’s entire untouchable being. 

It bitterly reminded Tommy of the fact that no matter how much he wanted to deny it, Dream could only be described as something almost like a god, unbeaten and unbroken while Tommy was cracking like he was made of nothing but glass. 

“You’ve been annoying me for far too long,” Dream said, and his voice was quiet, almost pleasant, but his tongue hissed with venom and he reminded Tommy of a viper as he stalked closer and closer. There was nowhere to run, absolutely nowhere to turn to in this _fucking prison,_ so Tommy just lied there, limp and bleeding and wondering if Wilbur had missed him just as much as he did. “Ever since you’ve been thrown down here with me, all you’ve done is complain and cry like the absolute _child_ you are.”

  
  
Tommy couldn’t hold back the cry of pain as Dream slammed his foot into his ribcage. Tommy bit his lip to try and quiet himself, but it wasn’t enough, and blood started to bead onto his tongue as he sobbed and tried to curl into himself to provide at least some sort of protection from the harsh blows. 

“You - “

  
  
_Kick._

“Fucking - “ 

_Slam._

“ _Child,_ you’re a fucking child, Tommy, an absolute _liability._ Why do you think Sam left you down here? Do you really think he’s actually trying to find that security breach? What a load of complete bullshit!” 

The pain was blurring together and so was Tommy’s sight. He couldn’t tell what hurt worse - the striking blows of Dream’s kicks or the sharp knives of his words. Both of them twisted together to make some sort of sickening blade, and Dream had always been far too good with a weapon for anyone to be comfortable. 

More often than not, Tommy was always at the brunt of it, because Tommy was always everyone’s fool and always so willing to play into their hands. He always believed them when they said he wasn’t stupid, that he was right, that he was the big man, but Dream was proving him wrong because _god_ Tommy was alone and suffering and it just _hurt._

“I’m going to get out,” Dream said, and his voice was dripping with something beyond Tommy’s imagination, far too gone into the void and sounding more like something he would only find deep in the remnants of hell. It was demonic and shuddering with Dream’s own ego, cooing at the idea of getting out and taking his revenge, and Tommy was scared beyond comprehension. “I’m going to get out, and mark my words, every one of you will drown in your own blood. I’m going to slaughter you all, Tommy, and it’s going to be all - “ 

He leaned down, the edge of his mask brushing against Tommy’s curls, and Tommy couldn’t breathe. 

“Your - “ 

The eerie yet all-seeing eyes of Dream’s mask bore right into his, and he hated it, hated the smiley face and the certainty in Dream’s soft, cradling voice. 

“Fault.” 

_BOOM._

Dream paused. 

Tommy shuddered, wondering if Dream would just ignore the sound and go back to playing with Tommy like a puppet on strings, but the man straightened up and walked to the back wall. He laid a hand on it and seemed to listen for a moment, and when he didn’t speak, that was when Tommy realized that whatever was happening was not planned. 

Tommy shook harder. As much as he hated it, with Dream, things were always planned. Every pawn, every chess piece, every rook and bishop and knight were moved with precision and never without insight. Yet Dream was standing there, crouching down and brushing his knuckles against the floor, and Tommy could see the way he clenched and unclenched his fingers around air like he used to with the handle of his axe. 

This was not planned. 

Dream had no idea what was going on. 

And going by the screams and shouts that Tommy could hear echoing around their prison, he had the sneaking suspicion that no one else knew. This couldn’t possibly be the outbreak that Dream had threatened to do with Technoblade, there was no way. Dream was starting to look more and more nervous the louder the screams got, and when another explosion was heard, this time closer than the last, he swiped a hand on the side of his pants, no doubt trying to rub away the sweat that had gathered on his palm. 

No one could have expected it when the wall on the right was suddenly blown up in smithereens, Tommy screaming out in both shock and pain as bits of obsidian rammed into his bruised skin while Dream yelled out a _what’s going on._

The smoke was starting to empty into the room and Dream was coughing even with his mask, and Tommy definitely had _no_ mask as he gagged and tried hard not to suffocate in the thick, grey fog. The vibrations of the explosion still rang in his ears, almost making him feel like his brain was rattling around in his skull, and he felt disoriented as he blinked blearily up at the two figures standing in the now very much open and very much blown up hole on the side of Pandora’s Box. 

“Woops. Definitely poured in too much gunpowder with that one.”

“Yeah, that’s what I told you, but you didn’t listen to me.”

  
  
“Do ya have to start now?”

  
  
“You’re impossible.”

  
  
“Gee, thanks, nerd.” 

“What the actual fuck?” Tommy blurted out, because he recognized those voices, had heard them in his nightmares and distorted reality too many times to _not_ recognize them, but it was - what the - it just didn’t make sense, and Tommy had seen many confusing things but this definitely took the fucking cake. 

Because standing in the blown-open wall of Pandora’s Box were Dream and Technoblade, except that didn’t make any bloody fucking sense because there was also Dream standing at Tommy’s side in his stupid orange jumpsuit, and as far as Tommy was aware, Techno didn’t wear glasses. 

“Hullo,” Techno waved, and yeah, that definitely wasn’t him. One, fucking _glasses,_ and two, his hair was shorted, cropped neatly right at his shoulders and not at all like the thick braid that Technoblade prided himself with. Tommy knew everyone on the server and he definitely knew that Technoblade would rather eat lava than cut his hair. 

“Hi,” Dream number two said, and he was different, too. For one he wasn’t - well - there were two of him, okay, and that was already enough to fuck with Tommy’s head, thank you very much. 

“You broke us out,” Dream number one (what the hell, man, just one was enough but now there was double the amount and - fucking _christ_ \- ) breathed, and he simpered gratefully, his voice bubbling with saccharine gratitude and making Tommy’s injuries throb. 

“I’ll stop ya right there,” Not-Techno said, and Tommy saw as he barely even flicked his wrist and a trident was slamming Dream against the opposite walls, its prongs allowing barely enough room for Dream’s neck as he was pinned to the obsidian like nothing more than a ragdoll as he clawed fruitlessly at the weapon. 

It was enough to give anyone whiplash. No one had ever managed to catch Dream off guard like that, had ever managed to knock him flat off his feet and declare victory, and yet this nerdy looking Techno had managed to somehow fling a fucking trident at Dream and even managed to pin him down without him having time to react. 

Tommy was speechless. 

Actually, Tommy was vomiting. 

His everything screamed out in pain and protest as he leaned over and blew chunks right onto the crying obsidian that dripped obscenely underneath him. Bile and acid (and probably a few too many raw potatoes) burned the soft skin of his esophagus as he cried out at the pain and humility while Dream struggled against the wall and Tommy began to cry. 

Tommy hated crying maybe as much as he hated Dream, and at that moment, tears that felt too heavy and too hot ran down his probably red face as he choked on his own vomit. The air was sour with his sweat and blood and Dream was hissing at him to stop, to get up and take out the trident, god couldn't you _stop being so useless Tommy -_

"You need to stop talking." 

It was as if Not-Dream had blipped from one side of the room to the next, because he was holding up a knife so casually to Dream's neck that it actually managed to shut the bastard up. Tommy could feel Dream's pulsing anger and Tommy wanted to tell the doppelganger to stop, because he had no idea what Dream was capable of, but the man only looked down and half-smiled at Tommy before nodding towards Techno-Two (ha!). 

"Alright, this is disgustin'," Techno-Two grumbled as he tip-toed around Tommy's puddle of vomit with obvious exaggeration. He grinned when Tommy unexpectedly let out a bark of laughter, and Tommy was hesitant, because he'd never seen Techno make such a blatantly goofy smile. 

"See, you made an assumption," Dream-Dos ( _aha!_ God, Tommy was good at this) said sweetly while he stared defiantly into the unblinking eyes of Dream's mask. Like this, side-by-side, it suddenly occurred to Tommy that Dream almost looked pathetic. He was still pinned to the wall by Techno-Two's trident as well as Dream-Dos' knife, and when Tommy looked carefully, he realized that the man was trembling minutely. 

"Rather rude of ya, really," Techno interjected, and Not-Dream's chilling expression broke away to exasperation as he threw a mock glare at Techno's direction. He only shrugged and grinned down at Tommy, leaning down and starting to brush off what remains of obsidian laid on his shirt. 

"But we're busting _him_ \- " Not-Dream emphasized the word by jabbing a thumb at Tommy's crumbled form. "Out, certainly not you." 

"You - " Dream began to snarl. 

"Us," Techno-Two said, and his nose wrinkled as he swiftly picked Tommy up from the ground and held him bridal style, but otherwise gave no other acknowledgement of the vomit on Tommy's chin and lips. "And don't think we're just gonna leave that hole there for ya to get out." 

"This server's had enough of your crap as it is," Dream-Dos said in a satisfied tone, and with that, he was pulling his knife away and turning to follow Techno out the hole. He very decidedly ignored Dream's screams to let him out and take away the trident, but Techno made no move to do such a thing and neither did Not-Dream. 

Tommy peeked one last time over Techno's shoulder at Dream, and he shuddered at the rage, at the pure fire in the man's voice as he howled at Tommy to come back, to free him, to come and repent for every sin Tommy's ever done, and he was in so much pain but he couldn't help the fear that drugged his veins as his fingers twitched without his permission, like he really was about to go and free him. 

"Don't," Techno grunted, and that was enough to startle Tommy out of his thoughts as the man stopped and waited while Not-Dream started to take blocks of obsidian and filled in the hole. Dream's voice rang throughout the cell in shrieks and screams, but Not-Dream paid no heed. "He ain't worth your time. He'll rot there and that's all you'll ever need to know." 

"But…" Tommy trailed off. But what? But he was my friend? But I trusted him? But he didn't kill me? It was all weak excuses and the remnants of Dream's whispers, the twisted lies he told Tommy and the lies he fell for. He knew all of that and yet still his hands shook and trembled with the need to go back, and he clenched his fingers so tightly that his knuckles turned white, angry with himself that he still ran after Dream like a lost puppy. 

"Done," Not-Dream said, and when he turned around, it was even more obvious how he really wasn't the same person. They had the same voice and the same build, even wore the same fucking clothes with the hoodie and the gloves, but this Dream had no netherite armor covering him head to foot in a fit of paranoia, and he wore no mask that hid his sunny green eyes and freckled constellations. 

He looked charming, maybe even handsome as he smiled at Tommy, and he off-handedly wondered if Dream also had a dimple on his left cheek. 

"Who are you?" Tommy finally said, and that was really a belated question, enough for him to feel slightly embarrassed when Techno and Dream exchanged amused glances like Tommy wasn't right there. Seriously a dick move, in his opinion. 

"Surprised ya haven't figured it out yet," Techno said nonchalantly, and it was bizarre to see him like this, wearing only a dress shirt and some pants with an askew tie that looked like he fumbled with for a solid thirty seconds before giving up. He had no luxurious cape, no golden crown, and the glasses that kept slipping down his nose looked… dorky. "From what we've heard, you're supposedly one of the smarter ones around here." 

"You're so mean, Techno," Dream immediately said, and he didn't sound malicious, had no secret undertone that whispered threats of pain and manipulation. He just sounded like a boy, honestly, a little amused and a little bit scolding as he patted Techno's shoulder and then frowned at Tommy. "He really did a number on you, didn't he?" 

Tommy glanced down at himself. His shirt was disgusting, stained with a mixture of his own blood and vomit, and ripped in several places when he'd once tried to run away from Dream and he'd merely grabbed at Tommy's clothes to drag him back. There were bruises all along his arms and probably on his neck, and there was definitely going to be one the size of Antarctica on his chest where his ribs creaked and throbbed with every step. 

"Yeah," Tommy muttered. 

"I think my idea still stands," Techno said, and Dream looked only slightly off-put as they approached what seemed to be a nether portal. 

It, like everything else at that moment, didn't make sense because Tommy knew every inch of the server and he didn't remember any part of the portal chain linking to this one. It was built differently, too, larger than all the other standard portals and wicked flames flickering lilac instead of deep violet. 

"We aren't going to kill him, Techno," Dream sighed like they've already had this conversation far too many times. 

"As if ya don't wanna turn back and put his head on the choppin' block right now," Techno countered, and Dream made a small face of guilt and resignation. 

"Maybe," Dream said mysteriously, but it was ruined when he smiled and Techno laughed. 

Tommy felt like he was watching tennis as he kept shifting his eyes between the two, trying to connect this bright, maybe even sweet Dream to the monster they'd left back in the box and this nerdy looking version of Techno to his Blood God counterpart. 

_What the fuck is happening._

"But Tommy first," Dream nodded, and Dream - _Dream_ Dream, number one - had never said that about Tommy before. Sure, he'd cooed and coaxed that Tommy was always his friend, had purred into his ears that he was someone special and should only regard Dream as his true ally, but this Dream didn't say anything of the sort. 

He just patted Tommy's head, smoothed down the curls like Wilbur used to do, and he smiled. 

"Lame," Techno dragged out the word, but Dream laughed, and he tugged on Techno's elbow slightly, dragging him closer to the portal and into the lilac flames. 

Tommy peeked over Techno's shoulders, stared at the distant view of Pandora's Box, and disappeared. 


	2. Chapter 2

The lilac flames didn't threaten to burn Tommy from the inside out like regular nether portals did, instead licking at his bruised skin and ragged clothes with gentle touches and crackling softly in his ear. 

It was such a stark contrast to the last few months where Tommy's been burned over and over again that he squeezed his eyes shut to sear the soft touch into his brain. It took him a few moments of breathing and clenching tightly to Techno's shirt before he willed himself to open his eyes, fluttering his lashes and taking a look around him. 

They hadn't ended up in the nether. There was no harsh, blistering heat, no shrieks of faraway ghasts, and no squeals from pigmen that held threatening gold swords. They were instead what appeared to be a normal field, and the blandness as well as anticlimactic scenery made Tommy take a double take when Dream and Techno appeared unsettled. 

"It's a lil somethin' Mr. Code made," Techno said, making eye contact with Tommy and then jerking his head towards Dream. "I told him it was excessive for a temporary base but he wouldn't listen to me." 

"You're such a hypocrite," Dream immediately said, and Tommy had the dreadful feeling that this was their normal, and that he'd for some reason have to put up with their endless bickering. At least with the other ones they'd been short but clear with their words - _these_ two seemed to love poking fun at each other just for the hell of it. " _You_ didn't listen to _me_ when I said you put in too much gunpowder." 

"It was the only way we could get inside without standin' there for hours to mine at the fuckin' obsidian, nerd." 

"You - " 

Dream cut himself off and the both of them stared when Tommy suddenly choked on his laughter. He was in so much pain because of it, his ribs definitely not having a party as he wheezed and clung to Techno desperately, but he couldn't hope to stop himself. 

"What's so funny, brat?" Techno asked mockingly, but he was smiling and so was Dream as they approached a simple looking wood house. "Got somethin' to say to me?" 

"It's just - " Tommy took a moment to hiccup on a giggle as he rubbed at his face. It's been so long since he last laughed like that, and it felt so good that his cheeks were hot under his fingers and his lips almost stretched ear to ear. "I've never heard you curse before. Or like - the other you." 

"Other me's a pussy," Techno deadpanned, and it was so fucking funny because the way he said the vulgar words was so casual, so loosely slipped off his tongue that it consistently took Tommy a few seconds to realize he even cursed at all. "Don't worry. He's second on my list to maim after that bastard who shares Dream's name." 

The mention of him sobered Tommy's amusement and he felt like a raisin or something equally dried out and bruised when Dream frowned in concern and ushered Techno into the wooden house. 

The inside was just as simple as the out, but it was warm and glowing and with no trace of fucking obsidian in sight. Tommy was sure that it was no coincidence that nothing dark was placed in the house, and normally he would have hated being babied, would have screamed that he was a grown man who could take care of himself, but at that moment he was just grateful that he didn't have to see anything black or purple. 

"Here," Dream said kindly, and it was so _weird,_ dude, how genuinely open and sweet the man was as he dug around in one of the chests and pushed a golden apple to Tommy's lips while he was placed onto a bed. Sure, Dream number one had been nice at first, but it was always the type of nice that was shallow and only barely hid the teeth underneath, but this Dream made it a point to slide his mask even further away from his face and didn't protest when Tommy blatantly stared at his freckles. 

"Eat it," Dream urged again, and Tommy startled before he hesitantly took a bite and let the regeneration slowly start to reset his bones. It was no easy or clean feat and he had to bite down on his lips several times to stop from crying out as audible snapping noises rang throughout the cabin. 

"It's okay, take your time," Dream said quietly, and Tommy blinked slowly as he belatedly realized that this Dream had longer hair. It reached just past his shoulders and fell in golden waves, half of it tied up into a bun behind his head, and it was such a stark contrast to Dream-One's short crop that it relaxed Tommy just a little. 

There was no hidden malice in the golden apples given to him so freely, he told himself, and he let himself lean in closer to bite at the apple again, desperate to heal and get it over with. This Dream was soft and gentle and only touched Tommy with the intention to heal. He was Dream, but he was not _Dream._

Tommy couldn't tell if he was more relieved or confused by it. 

"Don't go sparin'," Techno said, and he flopped down onto the bed beside Tommy, holding up a wet towel and rubbing it gently at the corner of Tommy's lips to get rid of the remaining vomit in between bites. "We got more of these fuckin' things than we know what to do with." 

"Techno's good at gathering resources," Dream smiled at Tommy, nodding when he hesitantly gestured for another and Dream easily produced an apple from his inventory. "Especially things that have to do with gold." 

Techno grinned at Tommy, baring his sharp fangs and even growling a little bit. 

It was slow work trying to eat all the apples and let them heal him, but after seven of them he was ready to vomit again from being full and he was at least halfway to being okay anyway. Dream looked patient and didn't complain when he pulled away, and Techno only patted Tommy's shoulder before gently pushing him down so he was lying on the bed rather than just sitting. 

"You're not healed up as much as I'd like you to be but it'd be a bad idea to make you drink a potion after the apple's effects are still working on you," Dream said, frowning thoughtfully down at the glowing pink bottle in his hand. "What do you think, Techno?" 

"Yeah, probably. And relyin' on the potions ain't too good of an idea, either, cause otherwise he'll definitely build a resistance to them," Techno grunted. "Once a day should be fine." 

And Tommy had already thought it so many damn times but it was just _fucking weird_ to see Dream and Technoblade acting like this, acting like they didn't have a weird hateful friendship that always bordered on wanting to slit the other's throat but also worship them for their strength. 

Tommy was used to that, he supposed, used to Dream's crushing greed and Techno's overwhelming bloodlust, but there was definitely something softer between these two, something less cutting and more of a balance as they laughed and prodded and made fun of each other that Tommy had only ever witnessed between himself and Tubbo. 

"I bet your brain's just racin' with questions right now," Techno drawled, and he sat down on a chair beside the bed, only to let out a huff when Dream shoved him slightly so he could sit down as well. "What the fuck, dude? Get your own fuckin' chair." 

"I'm going to sew your mouth shut one day," Dream threatened, but he was grinning and so was Techno and _god Tommy's life was just too fucking weird, man._ Dream beamed at Tommy and ignored Techno's demands for him to get a different seat as he said, "sorry we got off track last time, though to be fair we were worried you'd die of internal bleeding before anything else." 

Tommy rubbed absentmindedly at his chest, where his bones creaked weakly and shifted after being half-healed from the apples. "Right," he said after a short moment, wondering where he should even begin with this whole fucking mess. 

"Before ya get any weird ideas, no, you're not dead and no, we aren't figments of your imagination," Techno immediately began, crossing his arms and leaning back, seemingly having given up on getting Dream to go away. "It ain't anythin' stupid like that." 

"Though we're definitely Dream and Technoblade," Dream interjected. 

"Oh yeah. Definitely." 

"Positively." 

"Absolutely." 

"One hundred percent." 

"Holy fuck, spare me and shut the fuck up!" Tommy barked. God, maybe they weren't evil or whatever, but somehow they were ten times more annoying than Tommy remembered. "I'm literally half-broken on your bed in the middle of assbutt nowhere, can you _please_ tell me what the fuck is going on?" 

Techno was grinning gleefully like the asshole he was. " _Assbutt?_ " 

"Hush," Dream scolded him, and he cuffed one of Techno's ears, making the hybrid squeal as he tried to fruitlessly pull away. Dream smiled at Tommy and reached out, and for a second he held his breath, remembering just who broke his bones in the first place, but then Dream only placed a hand on his wrist and rubbed it gently with his thumb. 

Right. 

He was nice Dream. 

Tommy would have to get used to that. 

"You spawned in the SMP, right?" Dream asked. When Tommy nodded, Dream and Techno exchanged glances, and they were speaking at a thousand miles a minute with just a single look alone before Dream looked back at Tommy. It was a little unnerving, really. "So you probably don't know that things aren't all linear like you'd expect." 

"Huh?" Tommy said dumbly. 

"Don't say it like that, nerd, you'll confuse his tiny toddler brain," Techno huffed, shoving at Dream and grinning when the man fell onto the floor in a heap. Dream stuck out his tongue and Techno casually flipped him off, making Tommy pinch the bridge of his nose and wonder what the hell he got himself into. 

"This is a fucking nightmare," Tommy groaned. 

"Somethin' like that," Techno said, and gee, thanks for that fucking reassuring vote of confidence, Tommy thought sarcastically. "But it ain't all that confusin' like Dream's tryna make it out to be. It's just that there are more worlds than this one, simple as that." 

"It really isn't, but whatever," Dream muttered from the floor. He didn't seem inclined to get up again. "Techno and I come from a different server. It belongs to the kingdom of Hypixel, but they don't really like us." 

"An understatement, really." 

"Honestly," Dream winced in agreement. "But we've been on the run for a long time. We stayed in Hypixel for a while before we were eventually forced to server hop, and then we had to do it again when they found us in that world. It's been going on for a few years by this point." 

"You're both fucking crazy," Tommy immediately said. He then scrubbed his hand up and down his face vigorously and said, "but neither of you have tried to fucking stab me in the past few minutes and I literally saw two green bastards with my own eyes, so maybe I'm crazy, too." 

To Dream's credit, he only slightly flinched at the insult. 

"It ain't easy to server hop," Techno said. "And also very illegal. Only admins are allowed to know about the other servers and can jump from one to another, and even then it's a whole load of paperwork and other bullshit like that." He looked haunted like the idea of such paperwork would be the death of him. 

Tommy flicked his eyes between the two, his silent question hanging in the air, and Dream smiled slightly before his hand twitched and suddenly his fingertips were glowing a sharp cyan along with his eyes. 

Tommy couldn't help it as he squeaked and instinctively scooted back further up the bed. 

He knew, rationally, that this Dream was not the one who had a violent and seizing grip on Tommy's soul. He knew, logically, that this Dream was not the one who whispered honeyed lies and sweet, false promises of friendship only to fuck him over dozens of times in order to gain what he wanted, but fuck, _fuck,_ seeing Dream like this, with his fingers glowing in his admin powers and his eyes reflecting millions upon millions of code - it was enough to throw Tommy back into that fucking prison all over again. 

He didn't even realize someone was speaking until the ringing noise in his ears was slowly calming down and making way for the fuzzy, out of focus sounds of Techno and Dream talking to each other in hushed, urgent tones. The air was too warm all of a sudden and it was like the lava again, separating him and Sam, separating him and freedom while it threatened to _burn_ him like Dream's words did - 

"Tommy. Tommy, shh," said the man himself, and Tommy almost screamed when he glanced up and saw Dream, his nightmare, his worst fear, staring at him like he was worried into pieces over him. But it wasn't the unfeeling eyes of a porcelain mask that wanted to tear Tommy's soul into millions of pieces, but instead, soft golden lashes touched freckled cheeks while green eyes made contact with his. 

"You gotta breathe, man," Techno said firmly but quietly, and neither of them were touching Tommy, something he was grateful for, because he was too shaky and gasping for breath and just one touch would be the end of it all. "Focus on somethin'. Let it be your anchor." 

"Think about the things you can see," Dream said softly. "And the things you can hear. The colors that you like and don't like." 

Colors. 

Right. 

Tommy could do colors. 

He could see the pink of Techno's hair. It was a blush sort of pink, brighter and more eye-catching than the pink of SMP's Technoblade, more inviting and warm. Tommy liked it. 

He could see the flaxen gold of Dream's hair and the shadows that flickered across from it because of the fireplace. It reminded Tommy of honey, soothing and with no venom in sight, and his chest loosened just a little. Tommy liked it. 

It took a few minutes, but miraculously enough, they were both patient. That was another thing that Tommy liked - they both looked and sounded like the people Tommy feared with his life, and yet they sat there with never-ending patience, their hands hovering in the air like they were ready to reach out and catch him if he ever fell. 

Tommy licked his dry lips once, twice, smacking them together and trying to get any sort of wetness back into his mouth and drive away the feeling of his throat being stuffed with cotton. His bruises and half-healed bones were aching in protest as he slowly uncurled himself, and he had the vague thought that he definitely undid a lot of the progress that the apples did. 

Cold sweat dotted the back of his neck as he thought about how many resourced he's wasted, how he had eaten so many of this shining apples and just wiped away all that healing by being a fucking idiot and freaking out over a stupid thing, and Dream would have hated him for it, would have told him that he was useless and a waste of space and refused to feed Tommy for a few days. 

There was no such thing, however. 

In fact, the idea of Tommy having wasted their apples didn't even seem to cross their minds as Techno smiled slightly and Dream baby clapped the tips of his fingers in approval. 

"I'm sorry," Dream said, and it sounded so genuine, so raw as it came from deep within his chest and vibrated throughout the house with its sincerity. His eyes were big and shiny with regret as he stared at Tommy and squeezed his hands together so tightly that Tommy knew his knuckles were white underneath his gloves. "I - I should have known that _he_ would have done something similar. I wasn't thinking." 

"'S okay," Tommy mumbled, and he hated sounding so weak, so childish as he reached up and tried to rub away at his tears, but there was no way to stop them no matter how many times Tommy bit his tongue or yelled at himself that he was acting like a child. 

"It's not," Techno said, and he leaned back in his chair while tipping his head back, and that was the first time Tommy realized that despite this not being the same person he feared and loathed, it was still Technoblade, because something inhuman and forceful and _angry_ reverberated throughout his voice in a growl. "It's not, and fuck if I don't make every single one of them die in their own puddle of blood." 

"You'll get your chance," Dream said calmly, and something gleamed in his eyes as he reached over and nudged Techno gently in the ribs. "Right after I get mine, of course." 

Techno looked unimpressed. 

"Is that why you're here?" Tommy croaked. His throat felt dry and overused while his cheeks felt embarrassingly hot from his tears. He hiccupped and gritted his teeth, reluctantly taking the jar of milk offered by Techno with a nod and taking a sip. "To - kill us, I mean. It makes sense, a lot of us are fucked up and… well. This server is pretty shit in a lot of ways." 

He took another sip of the milk and tried to focus on how thick and creamy it was rather than the concerned looks the both of them gave him. 

"We came here out of coincidence," Dream said. He twiddled his thumbs and it was such an innocent thing to do even though Tommy had literally seen him pull up pages of code several minutes prior. The idea of someone equivalent to a demi-god acting so awkward was… fucked up, if he was being honest. "We were hopping around and trying to get Hypixel off of us as best as we could, but they were tracking us closer than before and it was getting clear that they would catch us if we didn't do something drastic." 

"Ya mean somethin' stupid," Techno scoffed, and he dodged Dream's swipe to cuff his ear again, a smug smile on his face when Dream looked off-put. He grinned at Tommy and winked when he snorted a little. "It's one thing to go around server to server without permission _and_ with a non-admin, but bustin' into a private server - we're fuckin' dead if we're caught." 

"Luckily, your… admin," Dream said cautiously, and he seemed to be skirting around the edge of using his own name, something Tommy could reluctantly appreciate. He shuddered at the thought of meeting _him_ again, of having to face his sickly sweet words and porcelain mask, and Dream frowned slightly, hand reaching out and gently touching his shoulder. It was warm. "Luckily your admin is - preoccupied right now, so he hasn't noticed us being here just yet." 

_He's in jail, so he can't bother us._ The unsaid message was hear loud and clear, and Tommy took another sip of the milk to try and hide how shaky his hands were at the memories of those fucking obsidian walls. 

"We stayed because it's protected from Hypixel," Techno said. "Those assholes are arrogant and think they can go anywhere, but even they can't lay a finger on the SMP, not unless D - " he fumbled, lips falling slack and his shoulders bunching as he froze. 

"Not unless your admin says otherwise," Dream blurted out quickly. 

"Right, that," Techno said, and he looked so stricken that Tommy almost laughed. Techno cleared his throat and said, "anyway, we've been stickin' around here for a bit. Gathered information and figured out a good deal of what's been goin' on." 

"They're all stains in the code," Dream hissed, and his eyes were narrow as he clenched tighter at Tommy's shoulder, enough that he could feel Dream's nails digging into his skin through his shirt. Tommy squirmed uncomfortably. "All of them. I would erase every bit of them if I could." 

He looked like _Dream,_ then, bloodlust bubbling at the back of his throat and his voice threatening to suffocate Tommy. It suddenly felt like he was back in that god forsaken prison again, like Dream was cooing songs about his impending revenge and how he'd kill everyone again and again just to watch Tommy scream and writhe for him to stop. 

"No," Tommy rasped, and he clenched at Dream's wrist desperately, the half-empty jug of milk nearly falling to the floor in his haste as he dropped it and grabbed Dream's arm with both his hands so tightly that his fingers were shaking. "Please, no - I - not Tubbo. Never Tubbo." 

Dream looked thunderstruck, and so did Techno. 

"No - no, no, Tommy, that's not what I meant," Dream said quietly, reassuringly, and he looked forlorn as he gently tugged at Tommy's clammy fingers so they unlatched from Dream's wrist and instead were held by him in a half-clasped hold. "I mean - _him._ He's the one who deserves to face me. He's disgusting, Tommy. I don't think I've ever met someone as horrible as him." 

"I've got a few words to say to other me, too," Techno grinned, but it was full of malice and fangs, his eyes bleeding red and his ears perked low. "But don't worry, brat. We won't lay a hand on anyone ya don't want us to." 

"You're both so fucking stupid," Tommy sniffed. "You can't just fucking kill them and expect people not to realize. They - D… Dream is powerful and so is Techno. People might not love them but they still follow them like idiots. They'll turn on you if you do something against them." 

Techno barked out a laugh, and when he stared Tommy, his eyes were crescents behind his glasses as he grinned out of a mixture of amusement and confidence. "Do ya wanna know why Hypixel's after us, little man?" 

Tommy glanced at Dream, who only sighed in exasperation and fondness. There was nothing that told him the reason would be bad, so Tommy looked back at Techno and nodded slowly after a moment of silence. 

"We're both too fuckin' good, that's why," Techno said in a satisfied tone, and his voice was gleeful as he leaned back against his chair and crossed his arms. "Your Technoblade might be some kind of Blood God but trust me, _I'm_ the real god here." 

He paused. 

"And I guess Dream's good too, but not as good as me." Techno laughed and dodged the punch thrown at him as Dream exclaimed that he was an arrogant piece of crap and also a terrible friend. 

Tommy watched as they yelled and slapped at each other, both of the m petulantly grabbing at the other's hair and tugging once before letting go, and the house was warm and so was the milk in Tommy's gut. It pooled gently into him, Dream's wheezing laughter and Techno's nasal giggles, and it was hard to imagine that the two idiots currently wrestling on the floor were apparently so fucking good at fighting that they were being chased by an entire kingdom. 

They claimed that they would bring peace to the SMP, that they would do what everyone else was too scared to do, and they were on the ground, rolling around and trying to tickle the other as they choked on their own laughter. 

Somehow, Tommy believed in them. 

(God have mercy on their souls.) 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the amount of people who commented or left kudos honestly startled me
> 
> i wrote almost 4k for u are u proud of me yet
> 
> my rivalstwt agenda came on too strong today but at the same time theres no such thing as too much rivalstwt
> 
> ill eventually write a proper fic of technos and dreams actual meeting and backstory :) 
> 
> i wrote most of this at 4 am so i definitely have mistakes but ive already combed it twice after the first time my edits didnt save, and im too mad to try and look over it one more time so ignore any typos
> 
> follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/scar_letstrings) nerds

**Author's Note:**

> i thought starfoam was really sad so i came to give u this monstrosity instead
> 
> it's like 1:30 am and i wrote this all in one sitting and honestly i dont know why it's so dumb 
> 
> there are definitely canon things in here that i twisted to fit the story better and i'm not sorry
> 
> credit to [nae](https://twitter.com/naeruns) for having the idea about the different dream and techno duo
> 
> this is honestly going to probably be more fluff and crack? though of course if you know me then you know i can't help but love to put in that tommy hurt :)
> 
> scubscribe to the fic if you want to be notified about updates
> 
> follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/scar_letstrings)


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